The cost of buying the 12 maritime surveillance and patrolling aircraft is pegged at about Rs 2,500 crore.

A Dornier aircraft is seen parked at the Bengaluru International Airport.Wikimedia commons

The Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday gave the approval to purchase 12 upgraded Dornier surveillance aircraft for the Indian Navy. The cost of buying the aircraft is pegged at Rs 2,500 crore.

The committee, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave the approval after the proposal received Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) by the Defence Acquisition Council in October 2014.

Dornier aircraft will be built and manufactured by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at its Aircraft Division (TAD) in Kanpur, where, about 120 different types of aircraft have been produced during the last 32 years.

Dornier's maritime surveillance and patrolling variants have been modified by the HAL to cater to larger a bigger demand by the Navy, including surveillance radar, forward looking infrared, electronic support measure, satellite communications, data links and Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) among other things.

Various other acquisitions by the ministry of defence are currently under process, such as the Kamov Ka-226 (twin engine helicopters), for which the government of India has signed an agreement with the Russian government. Additionally, India will also buy 145 best-in-class ultra-light Howitzers.